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Sidney John Alexander Churchilll MVO (1862–1921) —referred to as Sidney J. A. Churchill— was a British diplomat, art connoisseur, and author.

Early life

Sidney was the son of Henry Adrian Churchill (1828–1886) who was an archaeologist and British diplomat. Two of his brothers, Harry Lionel (1860-1924) and William Algernon (1865-1947), were also diplomats.

He married Stella Myers, a writer and lecturer. Together they had a son and a daughter. His wife qualified as a doctor at Girton and went on to become a writer and lecturer on health questions, a strong supporter of the Save the Children Fund, and was also a local councillor in S.E. Southwark.

Career

In 1880 at the age of 18 he entered service of Government of India in the Persian Telegraph Dept where he gained extensive knowledge of the Persian language and of Persia; he then served as British Consul in Persia (1886-1894) and was in attendance on the Shah of Persia Nasr ed Din Shar during his visit to England in 1889, then Consul in Surinam and French Guiana (1894), Palermo (1898-1909), and Naples (1909-1912) then Consul-General in Naples (1912-1918), and Lisbon 1918 and died in office aged 59.

In 1901 he was entrusted with the last message from Queen Victoria to the Duke of Orleans.

Other Interests

He was a collector of Renaissance and Oriental manuscripts, and jewels, bronzes, pictures, and other antiques while in Persia and Italy. After his death his extensive personal collections were auctioned at Sotheby's, who listed: The extensive and interestesting collection of continental & Near Eastern works of art, textiles & embroideries, Italian and Sicilian objects of vertu, knives, forks, spoons, silver and enamels and the valuable and well-known collection of peasant jewellery, the property of the late Sidney J.A. Churchill, esq.

From 1880-94 he collected Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Hebrew manuscripts for the British Museum (Vol. iv. of their Persian Catalogue of Manuscripts is almost entirely devoted to the Churchill manuscripts); collected art objects in Persia for the Victoria and Albert Museum under Gen. Sir R. M. Smith, R.E., K.C.M.G., and also researched the history of gold and silver work in Italy, especially the two Sicilies.

He wrote many books, particularly on Italian goldsmiths, in both English and Italian, one of them co-authored by goldsmith and artist Benvenuto Cellini.

Bibliography

• Bibliografia Celliniana (Language: Italian) Olschki, Firenze, 1907.

• The goldsmiths of Rome under the Papal Authority; their statues hitherto discovered, and a bibliography London 1907.

• The life of Benvenuto Cellini G. Bell and Sons, London 1910.

• Cellini collection

• Bibliografia Vasariana (Language: Italian) Firenze 1912.

• Peasant Art in Italy Sidney John Alexander Churchill, Vincenzo Balzano, and Elisa Ricci; The Studio Ltd. London and New York 1913.

• Nicola da Guardiagrele, orafo abruzzese del secolo XIV-XV ... (Language: Italian) Empoli 1919.

• Nicola di Guardiagrele, orefice abruzzese. Notizie con una bibliografia (Language: Italian) Roma, 1924.

• Oriental carpets. Published by the Imperial and Royal Austrian commercial museum, Vienna 1892-

• The goldsmiths of Italy Some accounts of their guilds, statutes, and work. Compiled from the published papers, notes, and other material collected by the late S. J. A. Churchill ... by Cyril G. E. Bunt (1926).

• Papers, prints and drawings acquired or generated by Churchill for his study of Italian decorative arts.

• Collection of broadsides, 1608-1797, Italy.

• Bibliografia Vasariana and related papers, ca. 1910-1915.'

• The present condition of the Persian Carpet Industry. The Great Oriental Carpet Book, published by the Austrian Ministry of Commerce and Public Instruction.

References

1. Holme, Charles, ed. (1913). Peasant Art in Italy. The Studio Ltd. Retrieved January 11, 2013. The editor desires to acknowlege, in the first instance, his indebtness to Mr. Sidney J. A. Churchill, M.V.O. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. ^ Obituary in The Times
3. Obituary to Dr Stella Churchill in The Times
4. ^ The Indian Biographical Dictionary
5. The London Gazette - 2 June 1894
6. The London Gazette - 10 May 1898
7. The London Gazette - 1 February 1909
8. The London Gazette - 1 January 1918
9. The London Gazette - 28 January 1918
10. ^ Levantine Testimony
11. Auction Catalogue of his antique collection
12. ^ List of Publications by Sidney John Alexander Churchill
13. ^ Sidney John Alexander Churchill papers, 1473-1946

Template:Persondata

• 1862 births
• 1921 deaths
• British diplomats